Purchased Used Drill Press: Need Old Timers to Help

[Rich Riddle]

I am looking for a drill press for the farm. A widow posted an advertisement for a drill press with no photo but it was close to the farm. I went and purchased this old Ajax though it doesn't suit my needs. It's unique but how does it work on this 90 degree stand? This might migrate toward Arnfest.

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[Matt Day]

I'm going to guess its for drilling holes in the floor.

Edit, a quick google of Ajax floor drill press and it appears to be a beam boring DP.

[Malcolm McLeod]

Perhaps stand gets clamped or strapped to the work? ...i.e. to drill into a beam.

[Lee Schierer]

Perhaps stand gets clamped or strapped to the work? ...i.e. to drill into a beam.

That is a beam boring drill. You place it on the beam where you want the hole and sit on the board while you turn the cranks. Effective but pretty slow. It will give you a good upper body workout.

[John K Jordan]

I am looking for a drill press for the farm. A widow posted an advertisement for a drill press with no photo but it was close to the farm. I went and purchased this old Ajax though it doesn't suit my needs. It's unique but how does it work on this 90 degree stand? This might migrate toward Arnfest.

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Nice antique.

I know a guy who got one of those drills plus the other hand tools once used for timber frame (post&beam) construction. He didn't want to build his house by hand but he made full-sized sample joints as part of his research to understand exactly how things were done. Today he lives in a timber frame house that looks like a museum inside. It is built around huge old beams dredged from the bottom of Lake Superior.

JKJ

[Bradley Gray]

What you have is a beam borer for boring holes for mortising. I can't tell a lot from your photo but the one I have can be flipped end for end for 2 speeds. It also has a reverse for lifting the bit (and the chips) back out of the bored hole.

[Rich Riddle]

This sounds like something that will find it's way to Arnfest. I like antique tools but only if they prove practical. There is no future where I will be boring holes in beams for mortising. I could see this in an antique woodworking class for Neanders or something like that.

[John Gustafson]

I've got my grandfathers beam press in the shop. Essentially a discussion piece. Last time it was used to actually produce anything was about 65 years ago when my father and I used it to drill mortises in a couple of gate posts to accept split rails. We split those rails too as I remember. One of my dad's teaching experiences on how we "used to do it".